A plating apparatus generally includes various types of processing tanks, such as a plating tank for plating a substrate therein, a pre-cleaning tank for cleaning a substrate therein before a substrate is plated, a rinsing tank for rinsing a plated substrate therein, and a blowing tank for drying a rinsed substrate therein. A substrate, which is held by a substrate holder, is transported to each of the processing tanks by a transporter. More specifically, the substrate holder is placed in each of the processing tanks by the transporter, and the substrate is processed in each of the processing tanks while the substrate is held by the substrate holder.
In the plating tank, the substrate is immersed in a plating solution for a preset period of time. The substrate holder that holds the plated substrate is taken out of the plating tank by the transporter, and is then transported to the next processing tank by the transporter.
If a failure occurs in the plating apparatus when the plating apparatus is performing plating of a substrate, it is possible that the substrate cannot be taken out of the plating tank. In particular, if a failure of the transporter, a failure of the plating tank, or a failure of the rinsing tank occurs when the substrate is being plated, it may become practically impossible to transport the substrate to the next process. As a result, the substrate remains in the plating tank, and is left immersed in the plating solution. If the substrate is in contact with the plating solution for a long time, a metal film that has been deposited on the substrate tends to be dissolved or deteriorated by the plating solution.